During the season when you can get tomatoes fresh out of the garden, a good BLT is a delicacy. At least at my house it is. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Just smelling bacon cooking can make your taste buds tingle in anticipation.

Sometimes those flavors can jump out of the confines of two pieces of toast to make a pop-in-your-mouth kind of appetizer.

I’ve seen a variety of ideas combining bacon and tomatoes. Some are dips, others are hot dishes. There are baked cups, puffs and even tomatoes wrapped in bacon.

One recipe that stood out was for an appetizer that is served cold.

Tomatoes and bacon are basics of the recipe for BLT Bites. It combines the deliciousness of bacon, tomato and mayo with green onions and parmesan cheese.

The first step can be time consuming if you are making a lot and it gets a little messy. Let’s just say I had tomato juice everywhere.

I wouldn’t recommend getting tiny cherry tomatoes because it can be difficult to carve out the top and remove the pulp if they are too small.

To save a step or save some money with the price of bacon these days, you can use bacon bits instead of crumbled bacon. But use real bacon bits to get a better bacon taste.

Filling the hulled out tomatoes can get a little messy. Mine were overflowing and it poured over onto the serving plate. The end result was pretty tasty. In fact, I took them to a gathering of friends and left with an empty plate.

Becca Owsley can be reached at 270-505-1741 or bowsley@thenewsenterprise.com.

Slice approximately one-quarter of the tomato from the stem end. Discard top and remove pulp from inside the tomato.
Place cut side down on a paper towel to drain, set aside.
Cook the bacon until crispy, then crumble.
Combine mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, parsley, green onion and bacon.
Spoon mixture into each tomato.
Chill until ready to serve.

Tips: Thinly slice the bottom of each tomato to get them to stand up right. Use Greek yogurt for a healthier version.